Academic–Industry Connect
Bridging classroom learning with real-world industry experience through talks, mentorship, and collaboration.
The Academic–Industry Connect initiative under the Internship & Placement Portal (InP) enables students to interact with industry leaders, understand expectations beyond academics, and align their skills with real-world impact.
🌟 Flagship Initiative: The Vector Talk Series
The Vector Talk Series
Expert-led sessions by industry professionals focusing on high-impact skills, applied knowledge, and career readiness.
- Exposure to real industry problems & expectations
- Data, AI, product thinking & engineering practices
- Career guidance beyond textbooks
The Vector Talk Series – Sessions
Breaking into High-Impact Data / AI Roles
Anand Gangadharan · Data & Product Leader, American Express
Hiring managers don’t hire tools—they hire impact. This session demystifies what recruiters and interviewers actually evaluate when assessing industry readiness, focusing on signals rather than buzzwords. Participants will learn how to define “high-impact” work, map their skill stack across SQL, analytics, ML/GenAI, and storytelling, and communicate outcomes effectively. The session will conclude with a walkthrough of three standout, portfolio-ready projects—a Marketing & Revenue Intelligence Hub, a Support Agent built with RAG and evaluation frameworks, and a Churn & Retention Engine covering feature design, modeling, and uplift—followed by Q&A and actionable next steps.
Breaking Into High-Impact Careers in the AI Era
Chandra Sekhar · Sr. AI Engineer & Curriculum Lead
Pulkit Tyagi · Sr. Gen-AI Engineer, Axelerant
This session explores how AI is reshaping careers across engineering, data, product, and operations — and what hiring managers truly evaluate in the AI era. Instead of fear-driven narratives, the workshop focuses on clarity, positioning, and building leverage with AI.
- How AI is redefining job roles
- Skills becoming obsolete vs unstoppable
- What recruiters actually look for
- Building AI-aligned career roadmaps
- Using AI tools effectively in daily workflow
Includes a 20-minute practical session on AI-assisted workflows, prompt structuring, automation, and live Cursor IDE demonstration.
From Classroom to Industry: How Data Science Actually Works in the Real World
Gurleen Ahuja · Lead Decision Scientist, Tesco
This session explores how data science is practiced in real industry environments, moving beyond theoretical concepts to practical, business-driven applications. It walks through the complete lifecycle of a data science project, including problem framing, data exploration, feature engineering, modeling, and translating insights into actionable decisions. Participants will also gain exposure to real-world challenges faced by data professionals, along with a live demonstration using a real dataset. The session concludes with practical guidance on building relevant skills, developing strong project portfolios, and navigating career pathways in the field of data science.